Re: Linus Speaks About KDE-Bashing

Terry L Ridder (terrylr@tbcnet.com)
Mon, 13 Jul 1998 13:49:00 -0500


Kristian Koehntopp wrote:
>
> In netuse.lists.linux-kernel you write:
> >Thus spake Terry L Ridder (terrylr@tbcnet.com):
> >> Realizing that this costs money, I will gladly donate $100 USD
> >> to the legal fund to deal with the KDE-QT issue once and for all.
>
> >Would you please pay your money to some programmer who then writes a Gtk
> >based Qt replacement under GPL instead of paying some "scum sucking,
> >bottom-feeding lawyers" with it? Thanks.

As stated previously I happen to like "scum sucking, bottom-feeding
lawyers".
Please remember that it was those "scum sucking, bottom-feeding lawyers"
that resolved the Linux trademark issue. (How soon we all forget certain
things.)

>
> Right.
>
> To Terry:
>

> It was TOG, the very Motif TOG, that tried to own tons of
> contributed code for X11 (much more fundamental than Motif).
> And you complain about linking against Qt, but not about
> linking against Motif.

No, you dead wrong. The X-consortium had control of X Windows
until the X-Consortium was disbanded and X Windows was transferred
to The Open Group. The Open Group has raised severe issues concerning
the change of license under X11 6.4. The XFree86 people have already
stated that they will stay with the X11 6.3 source code.
There is a fair amount of resentment against The Open Group for their
new X11 license.

>
> - Nobody GNU ever demanded that TOG provides a free replacement
> for Motif. Instead the GNU community got up and started
> LessTif themselves. But KDE or the Trolls shall be responsible
> for providing a free alternative? Why?

If KDE wants to be the "de facto" standard desktop, then yes
it is their responsibility to provide a GNU GPL'ed QT replacement.

>
> - Still, there is Harmony, the project for a free replacement of
> Qt and it is making good progress. So stop whining and help
> them, if you think that Qt's license is a problem.

Well, no. KDE-QT have created the problem, and they can either
alter their current behaviour or let the lawyers settle it.

>
> But no, instead you start all over and create a second,
> incompatible toolGit throwing away several 100,000 lines of
> fine code that has already been written for KDE. Is it just me
> or is this really, objectively stupid?

Well, yes. Using your logic we should all still be using Windows
and Linux should never have been written.
I tend to think it is just you.

>
> - There is a problem left: I, the end user, will be forced to
> install two extremely large toolkits on my machine for the
> next five years. I will be forced to load two different GUI
> toolkit libraries into scarce memory the next five years. I
> will be forced to learn to operate and customize two different
> widget sets the next five years. And I will be forced to deal
> with interoperability problems the next five years.

I seriously doubt that anyone is forcing you to install both
KDE and GNOME. That decision is totally yours. If you choose to
install both than you understand the difficulties that represents.

>
> I think that sucks.

Like I said you make the choice.

>
> And looking at the calendar I recognize that it was not KDE
> who started this unfortunate split. Perhaps the Qt license is
> problematic in your eyes. But Gnome was the most sucky
> approach to fix that particular problem that I can possibly
> imagine.

Let me see if I understand you. You are saying that those of us
who do not like KDE for whatever reason, should not write an alternative
desktop package that in our opinion better serves our
needs/wants/desires?
That we should have only one choice and that should be KDE?

Is that what you are saying?

Again using this logic we all should still be using Windows and Linux
should never have been written.

>
> I really hate it (with "it" being "this situation").

Well such is life. Life is not fair. I would suggest that you
just have to get use to it.

>
> So, if the G people (Gimp, GTK and Gnome) complain to the K
> people about "taking away their project", the K people have
> every right to complain about the G people doing just the same
> in the first place when they started the second desktop
> project. Calling Kimp unethical in this situation is highly
> hyprocritical in my eyes.

The GIMP authors have every right to complain about KDE people
taking The GIMP source code, altering it to use QT instead of GTK,
and continuing to do so against their wishes.

>
> Thanks for listening. This just had to get out,
> Kristian
>

-- 
Terry L. Ridder
Blue Danube Software (Blaue Donau Software)
"We do not write software, we compose it."

When the toast is burnt and all the milk has turned and Captain Crunch is waving farewell when the Big One finds you may this song remind you that they don't serve breakfast in hell ==Breakfast==Newsboys

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